Уэльстің Бэрри Арал теміржол стансасы

Railway station in Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

Barry Island railway station is a railway station, south west of Cardiff Central, serving Barry Island (Ynys y Barri) in South Wales. The station has been the terminus – and only remaining active station at the end of the Barry branch of the Cardiff Central to Barry Island line since the closure of Barry Pier station in 1976, the last passenger working through Barry Island tunnel to the Pier station being an enthusiasts' special in 1973. Previous to that year, only a few revenue earning workings to meet up with the former P&A Campbell's paddle steamer trips to Weston super Mare or other Somerset/Devon havens, were made following May 1964. Passenger services, operated by Transport for Wales as part of the Valley Lines network, currently use the first half of platform 1.

In 1896 the railway line was extended along the newly built raised road causeway from Barry Station onto the island to provide a service to the newly opened and developing Barry Island Pleasure Park day tripper leisure facilities. The Barry Island station opened in time for the August Bank holiday 1896. The new rail line also crossed to the Island at road level and consequently a level crossing was needed where the line crossed Plymouth Road. When premises on Station Approach Road (formerly Roman Well Road) were being renovated in the late 1990s, traces of the original track were discovered in the basement. To give improved passenger access to the P & A Campbell's White Funnel steamers that plied the Bristol Channel in 1899, the line was continued past Barry Island station through a 280 yard double line tunnel to the new Barry Pier railway station.

Traffic levels started to fall in the 1950s and 1960s with the spread of greater car ownership in the UK, especially after the Severn Bridge opened in 1966. A further sudden drop occurred between 1968 and 1970 with the closure of the former Taff Vale Railway branch line between Penarth and Cadoxton, Biglis Junction in 1968, the former of which had served through traffic to Cadoxton from Cardiff via Penarth. In its final period of passenger use, the line south of Penarth was operated using a single car DMU from Penarth to Cadoxton only. The through route at Penarth station had been permanently blocked by buffer stops between the Cardiff end of the station and Cadoxton end whence the line at Biglis junction merged with the direct Cardiff via Dinas Powys main line to Barry Island. The wholesale closure of rural rail links all over the country accelerated the switch to private car use by holidaymakers.

In its heyday (prior to the early 1960s), the station had four operational platforms one long main platform on the 'up' side divided into 2 sections (numbered 1 & 2, with 2 served by a dead end spur off the through line to ) and an island platform on the 'down' side (numbered 3 & 4). There were also several carriage sidings at the east end of the station opposite platform 2, with a signal box at each end of the station to control the layout. The 'East' ’box was closed in 1964 and replaced by two groundframes, "A" and "B", "A" being housed in a ground level cabin, and bearing single line token apparatus for any workings over the single tunnel line to Barry Pier but with the former 'West' ’box taking over responsibility for the passenger service to & from the station. The branch from was built as double track, but was singled in 1969. The line between Barry Island station and Barry Pier through the tunnel had been singled to the tunnel's half way point in 1929 at which point it doubled and then quadrupled into the station platform area at the Pier terminus. The remaining signal box at the station was damaged by fire in 1976 and was out of service for repairs for more than a year this coincided with the final closure of the Pier branch and the abolition of platform 2, leaving only 3 platforms in use. The two faces of the island platform were thereafter (especially from 1982 onward when the carriage sidings and Pier branch were finally lifted) only used during the summer for excursion traffic, with the ’box normally "switched out" and all trains using platform 1. This method of operation continued right up until the ’box was permanently abolished in March 1998, though main line connections to the tracks serving platforms 3 & 4 had been disconnected for some years by this time. Following the closure of the ’box, half of the redundant track through platform 3 was lifted, platform 4 track abandoned and platform 1 track was curtailed at a buffer stop halfway along the platform. Platform 4 track was absorbed into the Barry Tourist Railway's infrastructure and east of the footbridge, all former BR permanent way was eventually removed but with extended track from platform 4 to the BTR Plymouth Rd shed, platform, headshunt and run around loop for the Tourist Railway's use. The remaining bi directional single line to and from Barry was henceforth operated using ‘One Train Working’ regulations from Barry Station signal box (since abolished the branch is now controlled from Wales Railway Operations Centre (WROC) at Canton, Cardiff, whilst the defunct island platform had its footbridge steps to platforms 3 & 4 removed. Platform 4 was subsequently handed over to the Vale of Glamorgan heritage project (see below). In 2012, the station footbridge giving right of way to the public was replaced by a state of the art structure with disabled access facilities but which offers no access to any of the platforms.

The Heritage Vale of Glamorgan Railway Company moved their operations to Barry Island station in 1997 from Cardiff Butetown railway station, now Cardiff Bay railway station when the Cardiff Bay Development Corporation indicated that they had no use for a heritage steam railway in their plans. The heritage railway started operating heritage trains from Barry Island's platform 4, running across the causeway alongside the Network Rail line, before continuing on to a purpose built single track incline to the new Waterfront terminus at Hood Road at No.1 dock quay level. By 2007, the company had extended their line from a junction on the Barry end of the Causeway to a new halt at Gladstone Bridge alongside Morrisons supermarket, the final intention being to further extend ½ mile to a new terminus alongside the Network Rail Barry Docks station, making their end to end main track length two miles. Following financial cutbacks brought about by the global credit crunch, the Vale of Glamorgan Council withdrew annual grant support for the heritage railway and placed the facilities up for tender. The heritage railway subsequently failed to secure the new lease and were forced to withdraw from Barry Island station in December 2008. Private transport operator Cambrian Transport subsequently took over the lease in December 2009 and they now run the heritage line as the Barry Tourist Railway which as at January 2018, terminates at Gladstone Bridge halt.

On Mondays to Saturdays, during daytime hours, three trains per hour leave for Cardiff Central; their final destinations being Aberdare and Merthyr Tydfil via The frequency drops to half hourly in the evening and some late night trains terminate at Cardiff Central. On Sundays, the service to Cardiff runs approximately half hourly all day and serves in addition to Merthyr and Aberdare. The train journey from Cardiff Queen Street to Barry Island Station typically takes 36 minutes.

The station appeared in Gavin & Stacey in its own right when Stacey was seen returning to Barry Island from Billericay and in Stella (British TV series) as Pontyberry. Other local stations including Pontypridd railway station also appeared as Pontyberry in the series.